This invention relates to a vessel treating machine of the revolving type.
Thin walled and unstable vessels, in particular plastic bottles, have been provided for quite some time with a stable collar in the area below the opening for reliable handling. Due to this, an especially designed carrying element can engage the vessels at the collar and lift them to the treatment element or station of a vessel treating machine. Due to this handling ability, the formerly customary lifting cylinder acting on the bottoms of the vessels can be eliminated.
So far, a plate with a U-shaped recess for the introduction and removal of the vessels from the treatment stations has been used as the carrying or supporting element in the most simple case. An exact centering of the vessel's opening with respect to a treatment element is not ensured, however, with such supporting elements, since, during the period of time from the pushing in of the vessel into the laterally open recess of the supporting element until the lifting and pressing of the vessel's opening against a seal at the filling element, the vessel does not exactly maintain its original position due to centrifugal forces occurring in rotary machines and also due to machine vibrations.
However, it is important that there be an exact centering of the vessel's opening, not only in the case of vessel inspection machines, but also filling valves with sensitive sensors. Especially in the case of inspection machines it is often required that the vessel not be pressed against a sealing surface attached to the treatment element, like e.g. in filling valves, but the vessel must be positioned in an open condition, i.e. not closed air-tightly, at an inspection probe. In special cases, an exact vertical positioning of the vessel opening is of importance during the inspection process. All these requirements cannot be satisfactorily fulfilled by the known devices.
As opposed to this, the invention is based on the object of bringing about an improvement as regards a safe and fast handling with a simultaneously high centering accuracy.